Summary: We are looking at what Jesus "really meant" and in doing so I hope that at this point you have come to at least consider that what you were taught about Christ Jesus, His claims, attitudes, actions warrant a reasoned second look.

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said 'Stop! don't do it!' 'Why shouldn't I?' he said. I said, 'Well, there's so much to live for!' He said, 'Like what?' I said, 'Well...are you religious or atheist?' He said, 'Religious.' I said, 'Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?' He said, 'Christian.' I said, 'Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?' He said, 'Protestant.' I said, 'Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?' He said, 'Baptist!' I said, 'Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist church of god or Baptist church of the lord?' He said, 'Baptist church of god!' I said, 'Me too! Are you original Baptist church of god, or are you reformed Baptist church of god?' He said, 'Reformed Baptist church of god!' I said, 'Me too! Are you reformed Baptist church of god, reformation of 1879, or reformed Baptist church of god, reformation of 1915?' He said, 'Reformed Baptist church of god, reformation of 1915!' I said, 'Die, heretic scum,' and pushed him off. --Emo Phillips

Dear Saints,

Now we come to the interesting part of our series, that part where I either totally incense some of or make enemies or receive hate emails from those who think global warming in the same terms as the earth is flat group. We are looking at what Jesus "really meant" and in doing so I hope that at this point you have come to at least consider that what you were taught about Christ Jesus, His claims, attitudes, actions warrant a reasoned second look. I could go on for several more sermons about what your Bible, the Book of Books, has to say about the Words of God and the Word of God. But for your weary heads sake I won’t, instead we will finish with one last point. What Jesus "really thought about religion" which is different than what most people think it is. In simplest terms "Religion" is mans attempt to reach to that Being outside himself. Religion, broadly speaking, means the voluntary subjection of oneself to God. In its strictest sense, religion on its subjective side is the disposition to acknowledge our dependence on God.., and on the objective side it is the voluntary acknowledgment of that dependence through acts of homage. It calls into play not simply the will, but the intellect, the .imagination, and the emotions. Without the conception of personal deity, religion would not exist. Judaism was the first tradition to teach monotheism, the belief that there's only one God. As Judaism evolved, the idea of God evolved, too, focusing on One unknowable, universal, image-less Being, Who, because the universe is framed in Love, requires justice of human beings.

Judaism tends to focus more on the way in which you practice and live in the world than it does on analyzing the nature of God. In fact, biblical monotheism is usually called "ethical monotheism" because of the very strong linkage of right acts to the belief in one God. While some religious traditions consider belief alone to be adequate, Judaism isn't one of them; to Jews, belief is most significant in light of the actions motivated by that belief.

We are looking at what Jesus "really meant" and in doing so I hope that at this point you have come to at least consider that what you were taught about Christ Jesus, His claims, attitudes, actions warrant a reasoned second look.

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